DUPRE, Louis. The Quest of the Absolute. Birth and Decline of
European Romanticism. Notre Dame, IN: University of Indiana Press. 2013.
387pp. Paper, $36.00--This book is the third in a trilogy by Dupre,
which examines the emergence and development of modernity, in as far as
we consider it a stage radically separated by a "caesura" from
Ancient and Medieval modes of thinking and of living. The first and
greatest merit of this particular study is its organization. It differs
from the numerous other studies of Romanticism by its stratification.
The first section is devoted to poetry. There follows a somewhat more
hybrid section which includes psychology, ethics, fictional typologies,
aesthetic and political theories, and finally, at the top of the pyramid
an examination of Romantic theories of history, philosophical systems,
and incursions in the Romantic understanding of religion. Dupre
indicates from the very beginning that for various reasons, mostly
connected with space, he will limit himself to the French, German, and
English cultures, even though he regrets that he will not be able to
deal with major figures such as Mickiewicz, Manzoni, and sundry
Americans.

The main argument of Louis Dupre is that the Romantics tried to
complete the modernist movement by aspiring to overcome the limits and
the finitude of human nature, therefore reaching toward the absolute not
only in literature, but also in politics, philosophy, and religion.
Another way of putting it is that Romantics sought a modification and
improvement of human nature and the human species. The project
inevitably had to collapse, but its impact on the subsequent two
centuries (only briefly alluded to by Dupre) remained enormous, perhaps
decisive. This definition of Romanticism is not original, in fact it is
widely shared by scholars of the period and of the movement. The merit
of Dupre is his rounded outlook, his ability to combine levels and
segments of Romantic activity, and thus to offer the reader a convincing
and substantial image. Simultaneously, Dupre provides excellent
thumbnail portraits and descriptions of some major Romantic figures.
This may prove extremely useful to future scholars.

Among the most solid contributions in Dupre's book I will
mention a few. Defining both Fichte and Schelling as the
"signature" philosophers of Romanticism, while Kant at one
end, and Hegel at the other are only partially contributors, is a fully
justified and helpful understanding. Moreover, insisting that the often
marginalized Maine de Biran is their equal, and a pioneering figure for
the whole of nineteenth-century idealism must be approved and applauded.
(As Nietzsche could not be understood without Fichte, so Bergson cannot
be understood without Maine de Biran.) Explaining why and how Proudhon
ever remained a Romantic clarifies much that is otherwise bizarre in the
writings of this disorienting sociological pamphleteer. Establishing the
role of Schleiermacher as that of the prototypical Romantic theologian
is quite appropriate, and his influence on otherwise opposing figures
such as the Catholic J. A. Mohler contributes to our comprehension.
Dupre justly understands that, despite the greatness of Goethe and of
Schiller, when we seek the greatest poetic figures of German Romanticism we ought to focus on Holderlin and Novalis. The discussion on the
sublime and the beautiful (though Burke is missing) is well depicted and
correctly pointed out as central to Romanticism. It is original and
useful on the part of Dupre that he presented Joseph de Maistre not as a
mere political commentator, but as a thinker with a solid ontological
(largely Thomistic) foundation.

These and many other felicities make Dupre's book worth
reading and some defects (the limping grasp of Coleridge and the
minimizing of Chateaubriand) seem, by comparison modest and quaint.

Perhaps the most important contribution of Dupre is the way in
which he suggests delicately the continuing impact of Romanticism. In
the chapter on religion this is more clearly formulated. The author
points out there that the "return to Gnosticism" and the
increasing interest in all kinds of mythologies were fundamental
dimensions of a newly found religiosity. We speak usually of
"Romantic pantheism": this is true enough, but the attempt to
somehow bring together (even fuse) all religions (see Benjamin Constant,
Gorres, also Auguste Comte, and many others) was also a legacy of the
Romantics.

In the long run we continue to feel the hand of Romanticism in our
thinking and even in our everyday life. The great inheritance of
Romanticism was the large treasury of concepts and images on which we
still draw. Virtually every subsequent generation produced its own
neo-Romanticism, all the way to the twentieth century. Chief political
trends of the twentieth century (Communism, Nazism, ecologism, and
others) could not be conceived without their Romantic roots and
background. Even popular movements (rock and pop music, "New
Age" theories, and many others) developed through the filter of
Romanticism. Louis Dupre's book is a valuable contribution to our
understanding of this evolution.--Virgil Nemoianu, Catholic University
of America.

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